Major Altercations Break Out in Capitol as GOP Stunt Backfires

0:00Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless bill? It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan,$15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending. Zero tears. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up-front payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy.

0:29See terms. Summer is here, which means we all want to look and feel our best. A GLP-1 may be right for you. Visit orderlymeds.com to learn more about which GLP-1 you could be eligible for. Getting started is fast, easy, and happens virtually through telemedicine from licensed professionals. Check it out for yourself. Go to orderlymeds.com slash podcast. That's orderlymeds.com slash podcast. Taking care of yourself feels great. Comp-out and medications are not FDA-approved. Eligibility required and determined by a licensed provider. Individual results may vary. See website for details. If your business runs on five different apps, 12 browser tabs, and one spreadsheet that everyone's afraid to touch, it's probably time for Odoo.

1:11Odoo is an all-in-one business management software that connects every part of your business into one powerful, easy-to-use platform. So instead of wasting time switching between disconnected systems, your entire business works together in real time. Your team moves faster, your data stays accurate, and you can actually focus on growing your business. Let one unified system run your entire business. From the first opportunity to the final payment, everything works together in one place. Whether you're a small business or managing a large operation, Odoo gives you the flexible platform built to grow with you.

1:49Try today for free at odoo.com. That's O-D-O-O dot com. Most people overpay for car insurance, not because they're careless, but because switching feels like too much hassle. That's why there's Jerry, your proactive insurance assistant. Jerry compares rates side-by-side from over 50 top insurers and helps you switch with ease. Jerry even tracks market rates and alerts you when it's best to shop. No spam calls, no hidden fees. Drivers who save with Jerry could save over$1 ,300 a year. Switch with confidence. Download the Jerry app or visit jerry.ai slash libsyn today. That's j-e-r-r-y dot a-i slash l-i-b-s-y-n.

2:32This is summer at its peak. Whole Foods Market Summer Fruit Fest is your invitation to eat the season. Fresh, organic, and bursting with flavor. Start your day with peaches and organic blueberries and yogurt. Build a grazing board with fresh fruit, prosciutto and artisanal cheese. Then fire up the grill with no antibiotics ever, proteins and fresh produce. Savor the season. Shop Summer Fruit Fest at Whole Foods Market.

2:58Ben Meiselas:So two major altercations just broke out in the Capitol building as MAGA Republicans are getting so desperate. They're trying to pull these public stunts of like getting in the faces of Democratic lawmakers and the Democratic lawmakers are not taking it and they're fighting back. We have it caught on camera, folks. So the first altercation involved MAGA Republican Congress member Mike Lawler from New York. He brought the press with him and he was going to confront Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries to Jeffries face. But leader Jeffries was ready. Jeffries comes out of his office, gets into Lawler's face and just utterly exposes Lawler and shows how weak and pathetic Lawler and these MAGA Republicans are.

3:44Ben Meiselas:Lawler's like, can you sign this? And Jeffries is like, you are there just to support the billionaires. You're ripping away people's health care. People are going to die in your district. This was a powerful moment. I think this was Hakeem Jeffries moment. Watch for yourself. I'm going to play you this shorter clip of what went down first. Let's play it. You're not going to talk to me and talk over me because you don't want to hear what I have to say. So why don't you just keep your mouth shut? Because you showed up, you showed up, you showed up. And so you voted for this one big ugly bill. You can extend it right now.

4:20A permanent extension of massive tax breaks for your billionaires. So 90 % of Americans take the standard deduction?

4:31Ben Meiselas:Then the other altercation involved MAGA Mike Johnson trying to interrupt a press briefing that was being conducted by the Arizona senators, Senator Gallego and Senator Kelly, who were calling for Adelita Grijalva, the representative elect, the congresswoman elect from Arizona's 7th congressional district, to be sworn in. And then you'll see MAGA Mike just like shows up. It's like, I'm here, everybody. I'm here. Maybe you just got to open up the government. No, it's the Trump and Republican government shutdown. And I loved how Senator Gallego and Senator Kelly also got in MAGA Mike's face and said, this is about your coverup of the Epstein files.

5:13Ben Meiselas:This is strength. This is how it's done. Here, play this clip. Ms. Krijalva, recollect Ms. Krijalva has not yet had a scheduled day because she was elected after the House was out of session. So I am anxious to administer the OCR. As soon as you guys vote to open the government. You don't want to be on Epstein discharge. How much of this? It's totally absurd. You guys are experts at red herring. You're moving along. There's nothing to do with Epstein. The House Oversight Committee is working on the Epstein files right now, releasing 34 ,000 pages and more on the web. Let me finish. The House Oversight Committee.

5:47Ben Meiselas:This is an excuse so she doesn't sign on to that. Now, let me show you the longer interaction of what went down when you had Mike Lawler, the MAGA Republican Congress member from New York, try to approach Leader Jeffries in this publicity stunt. Leader Jeffries walks out of the office, gets right up in Lawler's face, looks at him and says, you realize how pathetic you are, how pathetic you come in here and you're saying lies. Watch this powerful moment right here. Let's play this clip. Let me ask you a question. Did you get permission from your boss? Why don't we sign on right now? Did your boss Donald Trump give you permission?

6:28Yes, he is. No, he's not. By the way, why did you vote to shut the government down? Why did you vote to shut the government down? Let me ask you a question. For years, you always like to know how we need to keep the government open. You're making a show of this to make yourself relevant. You can easily sign on to this. You're embarrassing yourself right now. You're chasing clout. You're embarrassing. You can sign on to the bill. Let me ask you a question. You have four Democrats on here. Let me ask you a question. Let me ask a question. You voted for the one big ugly vote, correct? I voted for a tax cut bill that gave the largest tax cut to Americans in history, including, by the way, the average New Yorker getting a$4 ,000 tax cut.

7:02Are you against that? You're embarrassing yourself right now. Do you want to cut the standard deduction in the largest cut to Medicaid in American history? No, we voted for that. Waste, fraud, and abuse, by the way. You voted for a permanent— Let me ask a question. Point it out that$1.2 billion was wasted. You're not going to talk to me. You're not going to talk to me and talk over me because you don't want to hear what I have to say. So why don't you just keep your mouth shut? Because you showed up. You showed up. You showed up. And so you voted for this one big ugly bill. You can extend it right now.

7:37A permanent extension of massive tax breaks for your billionaire donors.

7:43Ben Meiselas:Then Democrats went out and held, I thought, a great press conference in contrast to what Maga Mike and the Republicans today, their talking point is. Do you all know that young pregnant women, they get to reimburse the hospitals less than these like migrants do? Less than, I mean, it was just such a bizarre press conference that Republicans had. This was the Democratic press conference, though, on point, on the side of the American people. Watch what goes down as Democratic leader Jeffrey says, our position is clear. The Affordable Care Act subsidies need to be extended permanently. We should help all Americans have health care the way Donald Trump is helping subsidize the lifestyles of his rich and shameless friends.

8:31Ben Meiselas:Here, play this clip. But our position that has been articulated in a bill that was introduced by Senator Patty Murray and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro is a permanent extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits to match the permanent extension that Republicans on their own saw fit to do for the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected as part of the Republican continuing effort to subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. More from Hakeem Jeffries right here saying this is the second time it's been shut down under Donald Trump. He's nowhere to be found. He's out there golfing.

9:11Ben Meiselas:Here play this clip. If we're going to get a resolution here, we need presidential leadership. That's what Donald Trump himself said 12 years ago in 2013. If a shutdown happens, the buck stops with the president. This is now the second time that the government has been shut down under Donald Trump, and he's in the presidential witness protection program. He's nowhere to be found. He's got time to be on the golf course. But apparently he doesn't have time to sit down with Democrats in the House and the Senate to reopen the government. And we have Democratic Congress member McGovern. Here's what he said.

9:50Ben Meiselas:Let's play it. I don't know if anyone else wanted to add. Yeah. You know, Republicans love to advocate for more work requirements for poor people, people on SNAP, people on Medicaid. Well, I got an idea. Let's let's let's have a work requirement for Republicans to show up to Congress and do your goddamn job. I mean, millions of people are about to lose their health care. This is a serious crisis we're in and we can avoid it. We can avoid people losing their health care. We can keep the government open. They need to show up. Back to Democratic leader Jeffries saying Republicans are obviously trying to cover up the Epstein files right now.

10:28Ben Meiselas:They know that Adelita Grijalva, congresswoman elect from Arizona's 7th congressional district, would be the 218th signature on the discharge petition. Here, play this clip. Will you call Speaker Johnson and implore him to swear in Adelita Grijalva? we have made clear privately and publicly that Representative Adelita Grijalva should be sworn in immediately without delay. Mike Johnson swore in two Republican members of Congress immediately after their April 1st special elections were concluded during a pro forma session when no one else was even around. And that was done by Republicans because they wanted to jam their one big ugly bill down the throats of the American people so they could rip away health care, steal food from children, and enact massive tax breaks for their billionaire donors.

11:31Republicans acted with great urgency to swear in two right-wing members of Congress to do in the American people in order to reward the wealthy, the well-off, and well-connected. But now, at this moment, Representative Adelita Grijalva, who won by much wider margins than those two Republican members, there is no dispute or controversy relative to her election. And so many of us are asking the question, why the delay, Mike? What's the delay with respect to representative elect Adelita Grijalva? Does it have anything to do with Republicans continuing effort to hide the Epstein files from the American people?

12:30Inquiring minds want to know. You know what I love about fall? The smell of coffee that fills the kitchen before the day even starts. Whether it's that first warm mug in the morning or an afternoon iced coffee, because let's face it, for me, it's always iced coffee season. The best parts of fall all have one thing in common. They're better with coffee. With Trade, you could explore roasts that fit your taste from rich and bold to smooth and nutty and use them to make all your favorite fall coffee recipes at home. It's like having your own coffee shop perfectly tailored to you. Trade is the number one coffee destination in the U.S.

13:02for both hot and cold coffee drinkers. They've sourced the best beans from over 50 top roasters across the country, and I can tell you from experience, the freshness is unreal. I just got a bag from Dune Coffee Roasters in Santa Barbara, an Ethiopian roast with these subtle fruit notes and floral aromatics. When I opened my mailbox, I could actually smell it. It was that fresh. I love that I never have to worry about running out or making a last-minute grocery run. Trade roasts to order, ships it fresh, and even replaces your first bag for free until they get it just right. Right now, Trade is offering 50 % off a one-month trial at drinktrade.com slash Midas.

13:42That's drinktrade.com slash M-E-I-D-A-S to get 50 % off one month. drinktrade.com slash Midas.

13:52Ben Meiselas:This is the fight that we wanted to see, right? Right. Democratic Leader Jeffries over here saying these extremists, these MAGA Republican extremists, they ain't even showing up for work. Let's play it.

14:06Leader Jeffries, what do you make of Speaker Johnson canceling House sessions this week? And when will you call for that? When will when do you think you'll call for the House? House Democrats were here last week. House Democrats are here this week. House Democrats will be here next week. House Republicans are on vacation right now. That's extraordinary. They canceled votes last week. House Republicans have canceled votes this week. We haven't been in session since September 19th. And on that day, Republicans got out of town before sundown never to be seen again as we approach the government shutdown and are now in day eight of the trump republican shutdown and these extremists don't even want to show up to work when they're requiring hard-working federal employees to show up to work without pay because of the Republican shutdown.

15:08And so we've repeatedly made clear we will sit down as Democrats anytime, anyplace, anywhere with anyone, our Republican colleagues, either here in the Congress or go back to the Oval Office to reopen the government, to enter into a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people and that addresses the Republican health care crisis.

15:36Ben Meiselas:Then you have Congress member Ted Lieu. Here he goes. Having served on active duty in the U.S. military, it is insane not to pay our troops. Some of them are in high-risk missions, and you want them thinking about whether they can get paid, whether they can care for their family. You don't want them focused on that. You want them focused on our national security, and this is going to affect our national security. House Democrats are here. Republicans are on vacation. They need to come back and work. And we need to pay our troops. Here we have Congressman Aguilar. Let's play it. Take, for example, Iowa's first congressional district, represented by Congresswoman Marianette Miller-Meeks.

16:17Ben Meiselas:This, by the way, is the same member who said she'll hold town halls when hell freezes over. Just this week, a 60-year-old couple earning$82 ,000 a year will see their annual premiums rise by 200%. $13 ,000 a year. And here we have the Democratic whip, Congresswoman Clark. Let's play it. And as I look in my district, as premium notices are coming out, a couple in Massachusetts that makes$88 ,000 a year is looking at having their premium doubled. If we go to Speaker Johnson's hometown of Benton, Louisiana, that same couple making$88 ,000 will see a tripling of their premium three times. That could be around$23 ,000 a year for that couple to pay.

17:15People can't afford that. 60 % of families in this country cannot meet the basics, cannot afford the basics for their family. And these sort of dramatic jumps in premiums are what is going to pull them under. So here we are, and we implore the Republican Party, go talk to your neighbors and hear their anxieties about what's happening to their health care, what's happening in your shutdown you're imposing on them and get on a plane and come back to Washington and get to work in reopening this government and protecting health care and the American worker.

18:05Ben Meiselas:And what's MAGA Mike been doing? Oh, talking about how he doesn't like Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl and how Lee Greenwood should be the halftime show. Oh, MAGA Mike, you definitely know what the American people are thinking about, Maga Mike. Here play this clip.

18:45doing that, not somebody like this. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

18:49Ben Meiselas:And what are the American people thinking? Our friend Don Lemon interviewed Americans on the street to see how they feel about the shutdown. Play this clip. Who's more responsible for the government shutdown, Democrats or Republicans? Republicans. Republicans. Republicans, definitely. Yeah. Republicans. Why is that? They have the power. Republicans. Why so? They control the House, the Senate and the White House. Who else would be responsible? I would assume the Republicans. Republicans. I think it's the Republican. One party is in control of all three branches of government. And I don't think that there's really any reasonable way to spin this is the Democrats fault.

19:25I would say Republicans are good for one thing themselves. I mean, with everything that's going on and everything that Trump does, I think we can.

19:34Ben Meiselas:And while the shutdown is taking place, folks, just know that 20 billion dollars of your taxpayer money has now bailed out Donald Trump's MAGA puppet in Argentina, Javier Malo. And he held, he took that money and he threw a rock show to celebrate his new book called, it's a new book, Construction of the Miracle, taking our taxpayer money, pyrotechnics everywhere, firework show in Argentina with our taxpayer dollars as Donald Trump does not want to extend Affordable Care Act tax subsidies and rip away healthcare. How utterly despicable is that? Hit subscribe. Let's get to 6 million subscribers.

20:16Ben Meiselas:Thanks for watching. Love this video? Support independent media and unlock exclusive content, ad-free videos, and custom emojis by becoming a paid member of our YouTube channel today. You can also gift memberships to others. Let's keep growing together.

20:38We'll see you next time.